Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Three Observer-area teams, including Charlotte's Ardrey Kell, will play for N.C. High School Athletic Association dual team tennis championships Saturday in Burlington.

Ardrey Kell beat rival Myers Park 6-0 in the N.C. 4A Western Regional final and the Knights (15-0) continued their unbeaten season.

Ardrey Kell will play Panther Creek (20-1) Saturday. The Knights will be attempting to win their first state tennis title and the first for a Mecklenburg County team since Myers Park won in 2008. Since the girls dual-team format was introduced in 1990, Myers Park is the only Mecklenburg County 4A team to capture a championship. The Mustangs lost in the 2009 and 2010 state finals to Raleigh Broughton.

Charlotte Catholic (2007, 2009, 2010, 2012) has multiple 3A titles. The Cougars also won 2A titles in 2001, 2003 and 2004. They won 1A/2A titles from 1990-92

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Mack’s father, Patrick, said the paperwork was completed Wednesday. Giavonni Mack is moving in his father. He previously lived with his mother. His parents are divorced.

Patrick Mack, who lives in the Butler zone, said his son’s mother may be moving out of town by December. Mack, a Division I recruit who the Observer picked as the Southwestern 4A conference player of the year last season, averaged 24 points per game last season at Providence. The Panthers finished 1-24.

At Butler, Mack will join another D1 recruit. Matthew Fisher-Davis, a top 100 national recruit, who committed to Vanderbilt earlier this fall. Fisher-Davis transferred to Butler from Charlotte Christian last month.

“He’s a little nervous about it, because he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to play, but once we found out what he had to do to be eligible, he was fine with it,” Patrick Mack said. “He’s mad about leaving his new coach at Providence (Scott Taylor), who he had built a relationship with, but I think he’s happy about it. He’s got friends at Butler, so he won’t be by himself.”

Sue Doran, director of athletics for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, said she had not gotten any documents concerning Mack yet, but said under current guidelines, if a player simply transfers, he or she has to sit out for 365 days. She said if there was a legitimate move into a new school zone, the players’ eligibility would not be affected.

Patrick Mack, whose son is being recruited by schools like Santa Clara, Mount Saint Mary’s and S.C. State, said Butler officials told the family his son would be fine to play.

“I’m happy about it,” Patrick Mack said, “because he’s under my supervision every night. He can do his homework properly. I’m more concerned about academics than anything.”

Friday, October 11, 2013

ELEVATORDOWN, Mallard Creek: 18 penalties for 205 yards, plus two safeties, a lost fumble and a lost interception -- and the Mavericks, No. 1 in the Sweet 16, still handled No. 3 Hough comfortably. Mallard Creek won 38-21

UP, Thomas Jefferson: Improved to 6-1 with Friday’s win over Cherryville. Prior to this season, Thomas Jefferson had won seven games in five years.

UP, Vance: Ran for 279 yards in a 42-16 win over West Charlotte. It was Vance's fifth straight win over West Charlotte. The Lions last won 28-21 in 2008.

FRIDAY'S TOP PERFORMERSShaun Wilson, West Meck:
Shrine Bowl pick had 30 carries for 164 yards and three touchdowns in
Friday's 35-10 win over South Meck. He caught five passes for 115 yards
and another score.

Anthony Ratliff, Butler: Junior QB completed 14-of-18 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns in an easy 42-14 win over Myers Park. Ratliff also rushed 14 times for 97 yards and a score. Butler freshman running back Chrisean Davis-Pinckney ran 16 times for 168 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught three passes for 82 yards and a score.

Tony Reid, Mallard Creek: a fumble recovery and a 90-yard interception return in a 38-21 win over Hough. Teammate Jaylen Samuels, an N.C. State recruit, had 13 carries for 131 yards and three scores.

Pralowe Grier, West Charlotte: Rushed for 129 yards on 18 carries and a score. He also had an 87-yard kick return for a touchdown in a 42-16 loss to Vance

Rocky Reid, Concord: Had his sixth 200-yard game of the season in Friday’s 28-14 win over Cox Mill. He rushed for 248 yards on 29 carries as the Spiders (7-0) stayed unbeaten. For the season, Reid has 1,706 yards on 185 carries. He is a junior.

Nolan Beasley, North Mecklenburg: Threw for 310 yards and four touchdowns against Hopewell. Receiver Devon Sutton caught five passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns. He ran a punt back 49 yards for a score. Teammate Stephen Langford caught six passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns.

Isaac Garcia, Olympic: 15 carries for 209 yards and a score in a 55-21 loss to Charlotte Catholic.

Josh Stilley, Hough: Senior QB completed 16 of 31 passes for 261 yards in the loss to Mallard Creek, but suffered through four interceptions. Teammate Tylan Murell had 12 carries for 52 yards and two scores plus eight catches for 82 yards

Jaquan Brooks, South Point: QB had 207 yards rushing and three touchdowns in a 48-14 win over Ashbrook. He also threw a touchdown pass on his team's homecoming night.

Daniel Jones, Charlotte Latin: 14-of-28 for 182 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-21 win over Providence Day. Denzel Pearson had 21 carries for 178 yards and two touchdowns.

Xavier Thomas, Hunter Huss: Backup QB played in Friday’s 41-7 over East Gaston because starter Andrew Jordan was injured. He directed Huss to four touchdowns on its first seven possessions and threw for 138 yards and two scores. Kerrion Moore rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns. He added a 77-yard punt return.

Friday’s Roundup

Porter Ridge 52, Garinger 6: The game was moved to Porter Ridge after being originally scheduled for Garinger. Garinger has construction on campus. Garinger (0-7, 0-3 Southwestern 4A) lost its 16th straight game. The Wildcats haven’t won since beating Harding 16-14 in October of 2011. Porter Ridge (5-2 3-0 Southwestern 4A) has won five of its last six games.

Davidson Day 42, Country Day 35: Davidson Day kept its unbeaten season going and avenged a 41-point defeat to the Bucs last season. Country Day took a 35-34 lead late in the game, but Davidson Day drove for the game-winning touchdown and two-point conversion. All-America QB Will Grier threw for 279 yards and four touchdowns. He rushed for 123 yards and another score. Teammate Jordan Brown had 105 yards rushing and a touchdown.

Providence 24, Berry 14: The game featured a pair of North Carolina recruits. Berry’s Cayson Collins, a Shrine Bowl defensive pick, had 15 tackles, a forced fumble and three tackles for a loss. Providence’s Austin Proehl caught seven passes for 169 yards and a score.

No. 6 Charlotte Christian 56, Carolina Pride 12: Charlotte Christian ran its record to 7-0 with the easy win. The Knights led 28-6 at halftime and cruised. Christian’s Jaylon McClinton rushed 15 times for 130 yards, averaging nine yards per carry. Bo Hines was 9-of-10 passing for 139 yards and five touchdowns. He ran four times for 17 yards and caught three passes for 73 yards.

Rocky River 28, East Meck 6: Nailil Ramadan broke a scoreless tie in the second quarter. His score led to three straight touchdowns for Rocky River, which took a 21-0 lead and cruised home. Ramadan finished with two touchdowns for Rocky River (7-1, 3-0). Rocky River plays Sweet 16 No. 4 Butler next week in a battle of conference unbeatens. East Meck fell to 0-8 overall, 0-3 in Southwestern 4A conference games.

Ardrey Kell 38, Harding 29: Ardrey Kell (4-3, 1-2 SoMeck 8) snapped a two-game losing streak Friday with the tough win. It was the second time this season the Knights topped 30 points. Ardrey Kell beat Marvin Ridge 45-24 Sept. 6. After a 3-0 start, Harding has dropped three straight. The Rams are 3-3 overall and 0-3 in SoMeck 8 conference play.

By The Numbers

114: Yards rushing, on two plays, for Charlotte Catholic’s Elijah Hood that were called back for penalities. Catholic beat Olympic 55-14 and Hood ran 19 times for 294 yards and five touchdowns.

6: Turnovers forced by Mallard Creek’s defense in a 38-21 win over Hough. Four of the turnovers were via interceptions.

7: Hopewell beat North Mecklenburg for the seventh straight time Friday, winning 47-34

55: Statesville was down 28-0 to West Iredell before scoring 55 unanswered points and winning 55-28.

NEXT WEEK'S OBSERVER AREA SCHEDULE
Alexander Central at Statesville
Berry at Harding, 7
Bessemer City at Pine Lake Prep
Burns at Shelby
Butler at Rocky River, 7
Carson at Concord
Central Academy at West Stanly
Central Cabarrus at South Rowan
Charlotte Catholic at South Mecklenburg, 7
Charlotte Country Day at Charlotte Christian
Charlotte Latin at Cannon
Chatham Central at South Stanly
Cherryville at Highland Tech
Cuthbertson at Weddington
East Burke at Crest
East Gaston at Ashbrook
East Lincoln at Newton Conover
East Rutherford at Draughn
Garinger at Independence, 7
Hibriten at Watauga
Hickory at St. Stephens
Hickory Grove at Westminster Catawba
Hickory Ridge at Northwest Cabarrus
Hopewell at West Charlotte, 7
Hough at A.L. Brown
Hunter Huss at Lake Norman Charter
Jay M. Robinson at North Mecklenburg, 7
Kings Mountain at R.S. Central
Lincolnton at Bunker Hill
Maiden at Bandys
Mallard Creek at Vance, 7
Metrolina Christian at Davidson Day
Mooresville at North Lincoln
Mount Pleasant at Monroe
Myers Park at Porter Ridge
North Gaston at Chase
North Iredell at South Iredell
North Moore at Albermarle
North Rowan at West Davidson
North Stanly at West Montgomery
Olympic at West Mecklenburg, 7
Parkwood at Forest Hills
Patton at Fred T. Foard
Piedmont at Anson Senior
Providence at Ardrey Kell, 7
Providence Day at Rabun Gap Nacoochee (GA)
Salisbury at Lexington
South Caldwell at Freedom
SouthLake Christian at Trinity Christian
South Point at Forestview
Sun Valley at Marvin Ridge
Thomas Jefferson Academy at Community School of Davidson
West Caldwell at West Lincoln
West Iredell at Lake Norman
West Rowan at East RowanSouth Carolina
Indian Land at Central
Hickory Grove at Westminster Catawba
Lancaster at Clover
Nation Ford at York
Northwestern at Fort Mill
South Pointe at Rock Hill

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Garinger has moved its home football game Friday to Porter Ridge, Garinger athletics director Tony Huggins told the Observer.

Huggins said the game was moved due to construction on campus. Garinger (0-6) has played only one home game this season and is scheduled to open a new stadium next fall. Garinger hosted rival Harding on Aug. 30.

With the Porter Ridge home game now moving, Garinger will play three of 11 games at home. The Wildcats will play East Meck at home Oct. 25 and Myers Park Nov. 1.

Also with Friday’s move to Union County, the game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ home games kick off at 7 p.m.

Friday, October 4, 2013

DOWN, Mallard Creek: Mavericks QB Emiere Scaife, an Applachian State recruit, will have surgery on his ankle Saturday. He’ll miss Friday’s showdown with No. 3 Hough and the remainder of the season. He injured his ankle in last week’s shutout win over West Charlotte.

UP, Shrine Bowl selections: N.C. and S.C. Shrine Bowl coaches will meet in Fort Mill Monday to pick the 40-man teams. More than 400 names were submitted. The teams will be announced Thursday.

UP, Caleb York, Providence: Completed 14-of-17 passes for 181 yards and two scores in 31-27 upset of No. 5 West Meck. York also rushed for 48 yards. This was the Mecklenburg County upset of the year.

Nick Vagnone, Porter Ridge: Scored game-winning two-point conversion run in Pirates’ 35-34 win over Independence. He also had a 52-yard interception return for a score and a one-yard scoring run.Friday’s Roundup

No. 3 Hough 73, Robinson 0: Hough (6-0, 2-0 MECKA 8) warmed up for next week’s showdown with top-ranked Mallard Creek with an easy win. The Huskies smashed the single-game school record for points. Hough, which opened in 2010, set the school-record for points earlier this year in a 51-29 win at Lake Norman.

Robinson (0-6, 0-2) remained winless.

Hough now turns its attention to what may be the biggest game in school history. Mallard Creek is nationally ranked, No. 1 in the Observer’s Sweet 16 poll and the Associated Press top 10 poll. Hough has never beaten Mallard Creek, losing 28-3 in 2012, 51-14 in 2011 and 52-0 in 2010.

Rocky River 67, Garinger 0: Rocky River won its sixth straight game to improve to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in the Southwestern 4A. The average margin of victory in the win streak is nearly 25 points. Rocky River is now off for one week before playing Butler at home in a game that could determine the league championship Oct. 18.

No. 13 Charlotte Catholic 41, Harding 14: Charlotte Catholic coach Jim Oddo won his 350th career game Friday as the Cougars (4-2, 2-0) won easily. Harding, which was 3-0 two weeks ago and off to its best start in years, lost its second straight game. The Rams are 3-2 overall and 0-2 in the SoMeck. Catholic now faces a huge home game next week with Olympic (5-1, 2-0.

Victory Christian 20, Marvin Ridge 14: The Kings held on for the uspet against the Union County public school team. Victory turned the ball over on downs with 61 seconds left at the Marvin Ridge 32. Marvin Ridge go to the Victory Christian 11 with second and goal but fumbled on third down and Victory Christian recovered to seal the win.

Weddington 28, Country Day 3: Country Day fell to 4-2 after a tough loss in Union County. The Bucs were trying to duplicate the win they had a few weeks ago at 4A public school power Durham Hillside. Weddington (5-1) won is third straight game, all by double-digits since a 7-0 loss at A.L. Brown. Weddington faces Southern Carolina conference rival Anson Senior next week.

North Mecklenburg 23, West Charlotte 22: North Meck (3-3, 1-1 MECKA 8) was up 23-0 and cruising. West Charlotte scored and then scored again after a Vikings fumble. Down 23-14, West Charlotte scored off another Vikings turnover and recovered the onside kick with 40 seconds left. West Charlotte (0-6, 0-2) couldn’t do anything else and North Meck held on. The teams have played some wild games in the past. Five years ago, North Meck led by 30 at halftime and lost 42-33.

Providence Day 43, SouthLake Christian 33: Providence Day (5-2) -- the 2012 N.C. Independent Schools Division I runner-up -- pulled the upset in Huntersville, ending SouthLake’s unbeaten season. Providence Day led 7-6 at halftime and then extended the lead to 29-12 after the third quarter. SouthLake is 6-1.

By The Numbers

4: Ashbrook’s defense forced four turnovers in 35-14 win over North Gaston. Dominique Wilson scored on one of them, via an interception return.

207: West Meck’s Shaun Wilson had 9 carries for 207 yards and three scores in the second half of Friday’s 31-27 upset loss at Providence. He finished with 16 carries for 215 yards and four scores.

2: South Point’s defense stopped Hunter Huss’ game-winning 2-point PAT try in overtime to win 28-27. On the first attempt, South Point was flagged for a penalty after a stop. On the second, the Red Raiders perserved their unbeaten season by stopping Huss star Kerrion Moore.

3: North Meck improved to 3-3 after holding off West Charlotte Friday. It’s the first time since 2010 the Vikings have won three games in a season. North was 2-8 in 2012 and 1-10 in 2011. North was 3-8 in 2010.

NEXT WEEK'S SCHEDULE Thursday, October 10
Cannon at Rabun Gap-Nacoochee (GA)Friday, October 11
A.L. Brown at Jay M. Robinson
Alexander Central at Mooresville
Ardrey Kell at Harding, 7
Ashbrook at South Point
Bandys at Lincolnton
Bunker Hill at East Lincoln
Carolina Pride at Charlotte Christian
Charlotte Country Day at Davidson Day
Charlotte Latin at Providence Day
Community School of Davidson at Bessemer City
Concord at Cox Mill
Crest at Kings Mountain
Draughn at East Burke
East Davidson at Salisbury
East Montgomery at North Stanly
East Rowan at Northwest Cabarrus
Forest Hills at Mount Pleasant
Forestview at North Gaston
Fred T. Foard at Hibriten
Freedom at Watauga
High Point Christian at Westminster Catawba
Hough at Mallard Creek, 7
Hunter Huss at East Gaston
Lake Norman at South Iredell
Lexington at North Rowan
Maiden at West Caldwell
Marvin Ridge at Cuthbertson
Monroe at Central Academy
Myers Park at Butler, 7Nation Ford, SC 42, Lancaster 19
North Lincoln at North Iredell
North Mecklenburg at Hopewell, 7
North Moore at Union Academy
Olympic at Charlotte Catholic
Piedmont at Sun Valley
Pine Lake Prep at Highland Tech
Porter Ridge at Garinger, 7
Providence at Berry, 7
Rocky River at East Mecklenburg, 7
R.S. Central at Chase
St. Stephens at Patton
Shelby at East Rutherford
South Caldwell at Hickory
South Mecklenburg at West Mecklenburg, 7
South Rowan at Carson
South Stanly at South Davidson
Thomas Jefferson Academy at Cherryville
Weddington at Anson Senior
Vance at West Charlotte, 7
Victory Christian at Metrolina Christian
West Iredell at Statesville
West Lincoln at Newton Conover
West Montgomery at Albermarle
West Rowan at Central Cabarrus
West Stanly at ParkwoodSouth Carolina
Chesterfield at Indian Land
Clover at Northwestern
Rock Hill at Fort Mill
South Pointe at Nation Ford
York at Lancaster